Rag Doll Dress with Straps

I mentioned in a previous post that I was trying to work on clothes for the Lots to Love 14 inch Baby doll donation. I started working on Recycled Cindy's free Baby Doll Dress that I frequently use with the larger 16 inch dolls. However, both the 16 inch dolls and the Rag doll have flatter bodies. The Lots to Love doll falls more into the chunky baby doll and sometimes it is actually easier to take a pattern written for the Lots to Love doll and adapt it to fit the flatter dolls than the other way around. I took a chance with this pattern and we know have another item to put in the Rag Doll donation bag.

Recently it looks like her donations have been failed attempts at other projects but there are no real dedicated patterns for this doll so everything is always an adaptation or a item that didn't fit another doll.

You can find the free pattern here.

To make this work for the Rag Doll I used an I hook for the bodice of the outfit with sport yarn. I switched to a no longer available Red Heart comfort sport yarn and an H Hook. As I do with the larger dolls I added rows to the bodice to make it long enough. I considered adding a snap to close the back but in the end sewed the back closed. In the future I'd crochet in the round. I didn't originally because it would have had to have used a snap to get it to fit the rounder baby doll. I used a G hook for the straps and 18 rows. I based the skirt on length I didn't count rows.

15 Inch Rag Doll Bathing Suit

Continuing on my quest for Spring I bring you the Rag Doll's bathing suit.

With her shoes the bathing suit may seem odd but it also works as a romper. This outfit was adapted from another of Darski's free patterns. This was one of her Dora the Explorer doll patterns Oceanside found here. I love the hat that comes with this pattern but with the big pony tails hats are not easy to keep on the doll so I tend to avoid them. I am considering it for one of the other dolls as it is adorable.

I used a J hook and Red Heart Super Saver Wildflower yarn for this project with the exception of the trims. I used white for the "skirt" and and I hook for the skirt and the arm trims.

The back works up a little differently which is why I wanted a picture of it for future reference. When you make the initial rows the back does not meet and this was a concern for me as I was adapting the pattern to a doll with a little different shape. I've used another one of her Dora patterns but the dress is less fitted. Since the top was a bit tight I found myself at the J hook but the back still didn't look like it would close. I decided to continue on to get a feel for how the suit went together since it might well fit one of the other dolls. That is when I realized the suit didn't need to close in the back it was designed for this fit.

15 Inch Rag Doll Dress

As I've been working through patterns this year, I've been experimenting to see which dolls I can adapt the patterns to fit. After finishing the free pattern found here for the JC Toys - 16-inch Baby Doll I tried it on the 15 inch Rag doll.

The dress needed a lighter yarn than the Herrschner's Worsted I'd used for the baby doll dress. Thankfully, the donation I'd received from a member of the Ravelry Knitting Charity group also included some Herrchner's Baby Yarn and this worked well for the project using the same G hook suggested in the pattern.

Notes:

I did follow the directions for this pattern in not joining at the first row. I did this for this doll because there is little distance between head and shoulders. This creates a need for smaller straps than on the 16-inch doll. This makes a sliding on and off dress a more difficult prospect. I had to add two rows to make the torso long enough so I joined the dress before adding the two additional peach rows and continued on to the skirt in the round. I closed the dress with a button in the back.

The straps look close to the edge of the shoulder. I tried experimenting with moving them in one chain and the result did not look great so I pulled them out and removed them to the suggested pattern design.

If I get another Herrschner's shipping coupon I'd think about picking up some of the baby yarn. I like the way it worked up for this project and the greens, darker shade of peach, and purple options are not colors I regularly find when buying baby yarn.

15 Inch Rag Doll Sweetly Sweater and Pants

I'm always looking for opportunities to adapt patterns that fit the other dolls to the 2 Rag Dolls. When I realized the free Sweetly sweater pattern found here would fit the Lots to Love 14" Baby Doll I realized there was a chance the pattern might fit the rag dolls as well. Previous exchanges had worked.

This project was made with a G hook and Bernat Baby Big Ball Sport Yarn, Baby Blue and Ombre,Funny Prints along with the dark blue no longer available Red Heart Baby Sport Yarn.

Notes:

The construction of the sweater fit the doll well it was just short. I fixed this by adding rows prior to the final two finishing rows to get the length I wanted for the sweater.

The pants were made chaining the distance around the waist and joining and then making rows of dc until it was time to split for the crotch. I don't have a pattern for the pants but they are a pretty basic construction. To tighten the waist since I tend to overestimate the distance around to make them easy to pull on and off I sc 4 decrease for 2 rounds and I'm generally at a good pull on and off spot. I suggest testing to see how it works.

15 Inch Rag Doll Purple Dress for February

In the past I've stuck with bright colors for this dress but I was inspired by the color pattern from Red Heart Super Saver Yarn, Ocean Print and decided to use up some left over worsted yarn from various projects to create a similar color pattern for this dress with yarn I had on hand.

The pattern is free and found here. I used an I hook for this project and a snap to close the dress in the back. I joined the outfit after the seventh round.

15 Inch Rag Doll Dress for Spring

Since I don't have specific patterns designed for these dolls I'm always happy to be able to adapt another doll pattern to make it fit for the two different sized Rag Dolls. This is Amy Carrico's 14 Inch Baby Spring Set that you can purchase here. When looking at baby doll patterns it is an interesting task to decide if they'll transfer over to the Rag Dolls not just in sizing but in the age difference in the dolls. The Rag Dolls aren't baby dolls so the look has to be one that will adapt to an older aged doll. I thought this pattern made the transition pretty well.

One task I target myself with every year is to find orphan yarns in my stash that I can finish off. While there are yarns I will use up every year many of them are staples and will be replaced or in no longer available a similar yarn will be purchased. However, there are these orphan skeins that once gone will not be replaced and those free up room in my yarn stash.

This yarn was an unlabeled baby finger weight acrylic yarn that I picked up at a pre-COVID Church or Senior Citizen sale. It's been around for a while because I just didn't have the right project for the yarn. The baby dress I'd made previously with baby sport weight was slightly large on the Rag Doll so I knew I wanted a lighter yarn and this was a great chance to use up an orphan skein. It's not completely gone but I'm thinking it might be good for a Barbie project.

As with the baby project I used a g hook until the arm holes for the dress and sweater. I switched to an E hook to finish the project.

When I started with these Rag Dolls I was concerned about having enough outfits to make a decent donation but I feel they will be goign off with a nice wardrobe after all.

15 Inch Rag Doll Dress

I think I'm finally done with this free Linmary Knits pattern found here for a bit. I'm am both thrilled and amazed at how many dolls I've been able to use this one easy to make free dress pattern for to increase my doll donations.

This is the Factory Direct Rag Doll and I've sadly neglected her this year. I actually targeted my first attempt at converting this dress from baby to Rag Doll for her but it was a bit tight and ended up being a better fit for the smaller Rag Doll.

This time I looked at my yarn stash for new inspiration and settled on the Spud and Chloe sock yarn that has been sitting in my stash far too long. It was a door prize from a fiber event and I targeted it earlier for a My Life Doll project but there is still plenty to be used. The change in fiber proved to be the solution. I started with a D hook until I reached the arm holes and then moved to an e hook as the dress tightened after the arm holes without the larger hook size.

15 Inch Rag Doll Sweater Set

I mentioned when I was working on the smaller rag doll that I had intended originally to purchase this larger doll and picked the smaller one up by accident. The problem now corrected I had to set about adjusting patterns to fit her so I could get her ready to donate.

Back in the 1980's Annie's created a series of soft sculptured dolls similar in looks to the Cabbage Patch dolls. Like the Cabbage Patch dolls they had baby dolls and older child dolls the most prominent in that line being Debbie Ann. The original Debbie Ann pattern came with a pattern for the doll and a dress. Later outfits were released to fit her. I believe there is also a male sibling doll and as I mentioned there are baby dolls in the line as well. Over the years I've picked up vintage copies of many of these outfits thinking they'd be useful for other doll projects. I don't see myself making the dolls but as I recently learned when I found myslef purchasing Barbies, never say never.

While the Debbie Ann patterns were only available in the second hand market for years, Annie's has released and retired and released the patterns on the Annie's site and their second site e-pattern central. I mention the release and retire because I went and checked and while I have a vintage copy I also bought a digital copy as a back up for this pattern should I lose the original. While I still own the digital copy on Annie's site Debbie Ann's Sweater Set 87F43, is no longer available on either site. That is not to say it won't come back, but if you are looking for it I've given you the pattern number that can help you with your search.

Notes:

As with many of my doll projects this pattern is not designed to fit this doll but with some adaptations it did fit. I started with the suggested worsted weight yarn and moved to a D hook for the skirt. This will result in a later post about the JC Toys - 16-inch Baby Doll | as it proved to be too big for the Rag doll but I think with some work will turn into a nice outfit for the baby doll and it means my work wasn't wasted.

Realizing I had two challenges the weight of the yarn and the softness of the waist line, it wouldn't hold up the skirt I made some changes for my next skirt. I kept the D hook but switched to Hobby Lobby's I Love This Yarn Sport Weight. I also used a Hair Elastic for the waist band. If you haven't used pony tail holders as waist bands in your crochet they can be effective tools and they are easy enough to crochet over. I find they don't bend and twist the way regular elastic sometimes can when I use it in doll clothing. The challenge is that it has to fit the section of the doll as unlike elastic you can't cut to fit as easily.

One of the things you can't tell from my pictures or the picture on the pattern cover is that the panties for this outfit are crocheted on to the skirt. This is a neat little technique and I won't divulge the secret, but it is a simple add on that I can see using in other proejcts as it eliminates the added bulk of underwear at the waist of an outfit but still gives that added modesty that keeps all parts covered when the doll might other wise be exposed.

I've always loved back post and front post stitches so this sweater was a joy. I loved the texture it created and with a D hook and Red Heart Sport cotton, now unavailable, I found the sweater fit the Rag doll quite well. I crocheted the arms as I went and required fewer rows as the doll has shorter thinner arms than Debbie Ann. I did 7 pattern rows before finishing with a dc row followed by a sc row. This just seemed easier to fit to the doll than crocheting the arm and adding as it would be harder to determine fit when the arm was not attached.

Hats are going to be a challenge with this doll due to her rather prominent pig tails. I did play a little bit with this hat and liked how it looked in a modified format.

The pattern does include a cute shoe pattern. However, as the Rag Doll comes with attached shoes I did not require or attempt the shoes.

The Rag Doll was purchased from Factory Direct for those of you who may want to find one.